Small Gestures Can Mean So Much

I was thinking today how nice it is when someone thinks of you and lets you know.  I had this happen to me twice last week, and it really brightened my day!

My aunt and uncle were on vacation in Tennessee and were at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chatanooga. I was sitting in my recliner, taking a break from chores, when my phone dinged. I was surprised to see a message from my uncle, who had sent me this picture.

Penguins have been my favorite animal since I was a little girl, and he knows that, so he shared this with me when they saw them at the aquarium.  I was so happy to get this picture; it meant even more than he and my aunt thought of me when they saw them.  It made me so happy the rest of the day!

But that wasn’t the only thing!  Later, when checking Facebook, I saw that my best friend had tagged me in a post.  It was a meme with a cute little penguin in it!  Again, she knows I love them, and she thought of me.  I was soaring!  What were the chances that two people thought of me when seeing penguins the exact same day?

It got me thinking that whenever someone popped into my head, I needed to let them know I was thinking of them.  I’m very fortunate that I text with my people a lot, and almost all of my close friends and family are on social media, so they aren’t hard to track down. But I also have other friends and family who don’t do social media.  It might take a little extra effort, but I must also tell them I think of them. It costs nothing, and I know how good it made me feel to be thought of, and someone let me know.

It’s so easy to get bogged down in the busyness of life that we sometimes think of someone and mean to call and check on them, and then that chance never rolls around again. I know that’s happened to me a time or two, and I always felt so bad that I didn’t reach out sooner.  It also occurs to me that the older I get, I don’t want to have regrets like these anymore.  I want to have good memories of the last time I spoke with or saw someone.  You just never know, and life is so unpredictable.  It literally costs nothing to tell someone they crossed your mind and you were thinking of them.  So why don’t I do it more often?

Sometimes, I feel like I have to have a “reason” to call someone or send a text, but that’s not true. Sometimes, small gestures, like this picture of a penguin, can lift your spirits a little and make you feel good. And we all need more of that.